Hello there, everyone. I usually try my best to stick with one story at a time, but this was an idea that wouldn't leave me be. It's just a one-shot, and a pretty long one at that, but I like it. I wasn't able to see Rise of the Guardians before it left my local theatres, because no one in my family would take me, but I know enough about it from browsing Google and Tumblr. It's sad, because I really wanted to see it, not just for the rather good looking Jack Frost, but also for North, Bunny, Sandy, Tooth, and Pitch as well. The fight scenes looked awesome and the animation in the trailers alone left me speechless. Plus, I have personally believed in Jack Frost since I was very young. I remembered watching those old Jack Frost specials that were made decades ago, so I wanted so badly to see this version of him. Not that I don't believe in the others. I am very childlike at heart, because I sincerely never stopped believe in what others call the "make-believe world". I pre-ordered the DVD though and I also ordered the books that William Joyce wrote, because I heard such good things about it. Also, as a side note to those of you waiting for an update for "A Father's Duty", I'll have the next chapter up in a couple of days.

Now, let me explain a bit before we get into the story. I am straight. As far as I know, none of my friends are gay. So, you might be wondering why I wrote this story with a gay main character, especially considering I have never written a gay character before in any of my other stories. The answer is because I am a writer and I follow a key principle. And that principle is that when an idea won't leave me be, then that idea must be written. Now, because I'm straight and don't personally know anyone who is gay, I know I can't accurately write about the pain someone who is gay would go through. However, I looked up stories by teenagers online, who have detailed their personal accounts, so that I could have some basic understanding. And I do understand something that is universal, regardless of sexual orientation…fear and loneliness…

But, honestly, the point of the story isn't really the fact that the main character is gay. I will explain more in the bottom notes at the end of this page. For now, let's just head into the story, shall we?

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over Rise of the Guardians.

Emily Rhodes was, by all accounts, just like any stereotypical blond haired, blue eyed, freckly faced girl of the town of Burgess when she was little. She was obsessed with pink and frills and adored dressing up as a princess on Halloween. She had pictures of puppies and kittens on her walls and she played with toy ovens and dolls. And, of course, she loved watching movies about her favorite Disney princesses.

…Well, perhaps this was where Emily Rhodes wasn't so stereotypical.

You see, much like other girls, Emily adored and looked up to these princesses, from the princess who ate a poisoned apple to the princess with long hair who was trapped in a tall tower. And yes, Emily loved the princes of these films as well, handsome and brave and the dream of any young lady.

But Emily figured that, perhaps, she was different from other girls when, late at night, her dreams would have her taking the role of the prince and saving the beautiful princesses, being rewarded with a kiss from the ladies each time…

As the years went on, Emily noticed more differences in her that didn't suit a stereotypical girl. When she looked in fashion magazines, her eyes were constantly drawn to the lovely female models rather than the muscular male ones. When other girls would giggle and gossip about the cutest boys in school, Emily found that she wasn't drawn to any of them. Instead, she would find herself observing a girl in class and thinking how adorable said girl looked.

Emily knew what that signaled. She lived in a day and age where even the youngest of children were exposed to what such signs pointed towards…But she didn't want to admit it, not at all.

However, when she turned twelve, she realized that she couldn't deny the truth any longer.

It was an accident, truly it was. She and Abby Norton, who was both very kind and unbelievably cute in Emily's opinion, were hanging out in the park after school, spending one last day together before Abby moved to another state. Abby had been leaning against the trunk of tree and Emily was running towards her. The grass was dewy and she had slipped as she drew near her friend.

Their lips had collided for all of three seconds. Abby had pushed Emily off and laughed over the accident, joking about how the pair had lost their first kiss to each other, to another girl of all people.

Emily forced a laugh out of herself, not wanting Abby to grow suspicious, not wanting her to know that Emily was wishing Abby hadn't pushed her away so soon. That Emily had sometimes daydreamed of what it would be like to kiss Abby. Emily ran home without so much as a warning and avoided her friend like the plague until Abby moved away.

It was after that incident that Emily knew she couldn't deny her feelings to herself any longer…

Emily Rhodes liked girls.

The alarm clock rang shrilly, signaling that it was half past six, the start of a new day. An arm poked itself out from under the covers and slammed the clock until the ringing had come to a halt. With a big yawn and a tired grumble, fourteen year old Emily Rhodes got out of bed.

She shivered as she walked across the cold wooden floor and got ready for the day. Emily couldn't help but feel disappointed that her Christmas break was over already. It had seemed like only yesterday that school had been let out…

After a few minutes, Emily headed downstairs to eat breakfast with her parents, tying her hair back in a ponytail as she entered the dining room.

"Good morning, dear," Emily's mother greeted, kissing her forehead as she set a plate of pancakes before Emily.

"Morning, Mom," Emily said as she began to cut her pancakes, "Morning, Dad."

"Wish it wasn't," Emily's father told her with a yawn, "Mornings are never good for me."

"Tell me about it," Emily chuckled, finding it funny how similar she and her father were.

"I honestly don't understand how I'm the only morning person in this family," Mrs. Rhodes sighed before sitting down with the rest of the family.

As the small family of three ate and talked about random things, Emily spotted something wonderful outside the window.

"Snow!" she cried happily, rushing over to the window to peer outside.

Light snow had begun to fall, starting to coat the ground with a thin layer of white. Emily stared at the sky, mentally begging for it to snow harder, for an extra day of vacation.

"Snow day, snow day, snow day, snow day!" she chanted.

"Finish you breakfast, young lady," Mrs. Rhodes told Emily, "Mother Nature's not letting you out of school that easily."

"Do you think Connecticut gets snow in February?" Mr. Rhodes asked aloud, "Jessica said that her son's been dying to have snow fall for his wedding. And it's pretty nice, picking Valentine's Day for the date."

Mrs. Rhodes made a sound of displeasure at that, causing Emily to stiffen just a bit, keeping her eyes locked on her remaining pancakes.

"Still can't believe Jessica is letting Ryan go through with a wedding like that…" Mrs. Rhodes muttered.

"Liz…" Mr. Rhodes said warningly.

"Mark, it just…not natural," Mrs. Rhodes continued, "Two men getting married? Oh, poor Jessica, she always wanted to have grandchildren."

"She still can, Mom," Emily piped up, "Gay couples can adopt, or use a surrogate mother, or something."

"No child can grow up properly with two dads or two moms," Mrs. Rhodes argued.

Emily let out the tiniest of sighs as her mother went on to express her disapproval over same sex marriage, and homosexuals in general.

Once Emily had accepted the fact that she was a lesbian two years ago, she had kept it to herself, as though it were a dirty secret. She knew what her mother felt about homosexuals, having heard her complain about the issue whenever it appeared on the news and how her smile looked so fake when Jessica Carson first called to tell her about her son Ryan's upcoming wedding to his longtime boyfriend, Jake. And Emily wasn't sure where her father stood on the issue. He seemed okay with other people being gay, but what would he say if it was his own daughter?

Telling her parents about her orientation was out, so Emily had briefly considered telling her friends at school. But she always stopped herself from doing so because she hadn't known her friends for too long. She had several friends but she wasn't very close to any of them, simply because it wasn't her style to get really close to anyone. Despite not wanting to be close to others, she hated the idea of being alone. What if her coming out was the catalyst that ended the friendships she had?

No, Emily couldn't do it…She didn't want to be alone at school and she didn't want to break her parents' hearts by saying that she liked other girls.

Staying in the closet would be fine. If it kept the peace, then so be it.

"I better get going," Emily said, noticing the time on the clock, "I'm going to be late."

"I can drop you off, dear," Mrs. Rhodes suggested, rising out of her seat, "The school's on the way to the office. Or your father can drop you off before going to the airport."

"It's fine, Mom," Emily interjected hurriedly, "A little snow won't kill me."

Truth be told, Emily didn't want to deal with the awkwardness of sitting in the car with one of her parents after her mother's little rant. Emily donned her coat and grabbed her backpack, kissing her parents goodbye and wishing her father a safe trip for his business meeting, before rushing outside.

She took in a deep breath of the cold January air before walking briskly down the sidewalk. Emily could feel the tension in her, a dull pounding building in her head.

"It's not like she was she was saying you're unnatural," Emily reassured herself softly.

Only because she doesn't know you're just like Mrs. Carson's son…a small voice in the back of her head replied. Then, she would call you a freak too.

Emily pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to relieve some of her stress.

"Everything's fine," she whispered into the winter air, her voice sounding nowhere near convincing, "…Everything's just…fine…"

As she finally reached her school, Emily didn't realize that the snow was falling a bit harder than before.

One hour…In just one hour, an announcement came over the PA system stating that, due to the sudden ferocity of the snowfall, school was cancelled for the rest of the day.

Emily cheered with the other kids in her gym class. What amazing luck! It was as though nature itself knew that Emily was feeling like crap. Some more time off was just what she needed to get over her mother's words and a certain something else.

That something else happened to be talking with her friends on the other side of the gym.

Katie Abernathy was, hands down, the prettiest girl in Emily's grade. So many boys have had a crush on her at least once…As have Emily.

Katie's looks weren't the only thing that Emily liked; she wasn't so shallow. Katie was a kind girl and very smart too, having helped Emily out a several projects they've had. And she had a great sense of humor as well.

Emily knew that Katie was as straight as they came, so there was no point to having a crush on her. Liking someone she had absolutely no chance with was only causing Emily to add unnecessary stress to her life. But there was also no stopping this stupid, silly thing called puppy love.

"Who were you looking at, Emily?" one of Emily's friends, Susan, asked while the girls were changing in the locker room.

"I wasn't looking at anyone," Emily responded a bit too quickly.

"Sure you weren't," Susan retorted sarcastically, "Was it Andrew? He's got green eyes that can make even the strictest nun swoon…"

"…Yeah, it was him," Emily said with a believable enough laugh, glad that there was a wall blocking Susan from seeing the slightly bothered expression on her face.

"I knew it!" Susan cried gleefully as the pair exited the locker room, "Em, are you sure you want to walk home in this weather? My dad and I can give you a ride."

"I can handle a little blizzard," Emily declared confidently, "Besides, I love walking in the snow."

"Me and my big mouth…"

Emily had only gotten a couple of blocks away from the school, having underestimated just how much snow had fallen since she had left her house earlier. She could barely see three feet in front of her and the wind wasn't helping matters. Perhaps she should have asked her mother to come from work and pick her up after all…

"Hey, snow!" Emily shouted, "Could you quit it for a few minutes? I want to get home sometime today."

Emily froze dead in her tracks when the wind, which had been blowing hard in her face, suddenly stopped. Not gradually, not calming down to a light breeze…It had come to an abrupt stop, as though someone had merely flicked a switch to the off position.

She stared around in surprise when the snow started falling lightly, like it had been when she first noticed it during breakfast. Emily glanced at the road and saw that some drivers, who were stuck in a traffic jam, had rolled down their windows and were staring up at the sky in confusion.

"Uh…" Emily began slowly, glancing up at the cloudy sky, "…Thanks?"

Emily couldn't get home fast enough…The cold must've done something to her brain.

"You still could've called me at the office," Mrs. Rhodes insisted that night at dinner, "I would've picked you up, Emily."

"I didn't want you driving around in that kind of weather," Emily insisted, yet again, "Besides, you saw how soon the snow let up."

"Really unusual…" Mrs. Rhodes murmured, "I've never seen a blizzard stop so quickly before…Well, at least the snow didn't affect your father's flight."

Emily nodded, still pondering over the unexpectedly quick stop of the blizzard. And the timing…It was almost like someone had heard what she said and decided to do as she asked…

I'm reading too many fantasy novels…Emily thought, dismissing the preposterous idea that the snow had let up because she asked it to.

It must have been a coincidence.

"Mrs. Carson called earlier," Emily told her mother, "She says that Ryan and Jake are busy as hell preparing for the wedding. She told me to ask if you're sure you won't be able to make it."

"I won't go," Mrs. Rhodes said firmly.

"But, Mom, Mrs. Carson has been your friend since college," Emily went on, "She'll be disappointed if her own friend won't show up for Ryan and Jake's wedding."

"Emily, I refuse to be associated with the abnormality that is her son," Mrs. Rhodes barked, "Ryan could have found a nice young lady, but no, he preferred to hang around men…"

Mrs. Rhodes shook her head in disgust. Emily gently asked to be excused before making her way to her room, closing the door behind her. She collapsed on her bed, grabbing a stuffed frog, a toy that her grandmother had given her a couple years before her death, and hugging it close.

It was when Mrs. Rhodes said such cruel things that Emily knew there was no way she could come out to her family. It was those harsh statements that made her fear coming out to anyone…

What if they called her the freak that no wanted anything to do with?

After a few minutes of silence, Emily reached over and grabbed her phone, deciding to call her dad, whose plane must have landed already. After a few rings, Mr. Rhodes picked up.

"Hi, Dad," Emily greeted.

"Hey, kiddo," Mr. Rhodes replied. Emily could have sworn that she heard his lips forming a smile, "Man, I heard about the crazy weather. You're not some kind of snow wizard, are you?"

"Maybe," Emily grinned, slowly feeling the dread her mother had placed in her stomach lifting.

Emily and her father spoke about fun things for the next several minutes, though Emily was only half listening. Part of her was waiting for her mother to come upstairs. Once she heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs, Emily made sure that Mrs. Rhodes got to say a few words to her husband before Emily wished her a good night. As soon as Emily saw the door shut, she sat on the bed, her fingers drumming nervously against her thigh.

"Hey, Dad, can I ask you something?" Emily questioned in a soft tone, so as not to draw her mother's attention to the room.

"Fire away!" Mr. Rhodes responded in a bright tone.

"…Is being gay really weird?"

There was absolute silence on the other end of the line. Emily thought for a moment that she had lost the connection, when she finally heard a breath.

"Your mother's been saying things again…" he sighed.

"Yeah, about Ryan…" Emily answered, occasionally glancing at the door for any sign that her mother might be eavesdropping.

"Listen, Em, don't mind your mother," Mr. Rhodes urged, adding a laugh for good measure, "She's grown up hearing the same thing from her parents and her grandparents, so that's molded her own beliefs too. She says harsh things sometimes, but-Oh! Sorry, Em, my ride's showed up. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"…Sure, Dad…Love you."

"Love you too."

Emily listened to the dial tone for a few seconds before hanging up. She reached over to shut off the lamp in her room, pulling her comforter atop her.

"…He didn't answer the question…" she breathed into the darkness.

Emily opened the door and peeked outside carefully. Road crews had done a fantastically quick job of clearing the streets and salting them down so that schools could be reopened. A very light flurry was coming down, but nothing like the day before. Emily took slow steps towards the sidewalk, looking up at the sky warily.

"It was all in my head," she assured herself, "Just a coincidence…"

With that, Emily started to walk down the sidewalk, only to feel a cold ball of snow collide with the back of her head.

"Hey!" she yelled, spinning around to confront the thrower.

…Only to see no one there…

"Ha, real funny," she proclaimed sarcastically, eyeing the area carefully. The thrower must've hidden behind a tree or car, "You got me! Now come out so I can return the favor."

To show she meant business, Emily squatted down and formed a decently sized snowball. As she stood up again, another snowball hit her in the back.

"Gotcha!" she exclaimed, turning around swiftly and launching the snowball.

Yet again, there was no one…

Emily furrowed her eyebrows, looking this way and that, utterly puzzled. How had the thrower disappeared so quickly? The even better question was how the thrower had gotten behind Emily without her noticing?

"Hello?" Emily called out, "Is anyone there?"

She let out a shriek as yet another snowball smacked into her back. Once again, there was not a person in sight. And there was no way the thrower could have gotten past her without making his or her presence known.

With a bewildered expression on her face, Emily sprinted to school, snowflakes peppering her hair and a cold breeze blowing.

Emily's friends, Susan and Justin, were sitting by the heaters in the classroom. The pair looked up, startled to see Emily rushing towards them with a panicked look.

"Guys, guys!" she cried out, causing the other students to glance in their direction, "Something freaky just happened!"

"If it's about the snowman, I mean snow T-Rex, in the schoolyard," Susan began, sparing a look at Justin, "This moron has a lot of time on his hands."

"Iceosaurus is epic, and you helped, you know!" Justin swore.

"Not that!" Emily interrupted, pausing to add, "By the way, it was pretty cool looking…Anyways, back to the point."

And so, Emily explained the whole incident to her friends, who, she was a bit annoyed to see, weren't reacting with surprise or awe. Susan and Justin insisted that the thrower was probably some kid who was hiding behind stuff to get behind her, despite Emily explaining that there was just no way for that to have happened. Any further discussion was stalled by the arrival of the teacher, signaling the start of class.

Emily did her best to concentrate, but the incident was really bothering her. Just how had the thrower vanished?

Maybe they're right…Emily thought as the teacher wrote tedious amounts of algebra on the whiteboard. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention enough?

With a yawn of boredom, Emily glanced out the window…and her jaw dropped.

There was frost forming on the window…Not an odd thing, considering the fact that it was winter. And it wouldn't have been odd, had it not been for the fact that the frost was forming so rapidly and was, in Emily's opinion, starting to look suspiciously like Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night…

"What the-?" Emily gasped.

"Comments, Emily?"

Emily snapped her head forward. Her teacher was staring at her, as was half of the class.

"I-That is…" Emily stuttered, "I mean…The window…"

"Ah yes, frost," the teacher said blandly, staring at the windows upon which the frost had stopped forming, "Sadly, this isn't earth science, this is algebra, so if you're so curious about it, you can ask your science teacher."

The class snickered at Emily, who focused her gaze on her notebook, blushing lightly.

Students whispered amongst themselves and pointed. Not that anyone could blame them. It was definitely something odd they were seeing…

Emily was walking slowly, almost sneakily, down the sidewalk, occasionally glancing over her shoulder or at the sky with a cautious yet determined gaze. She was acting as though she expected to be ambushed.

Truth be told, Emily was expecting something like that. She could have dismissed the blizzard as a coincidence or the snowball incident as a lack of attention on her part, but she couldn't think of a reasonable explanation for the frost on the windows.

Something truly strange was going on…

But Emily's walk home ended up being as average as possible. There was no snow falling, no wind blowing, and no freak acts of nature that made her question her sanity. Emily's eyes turned towards the sky, filled with questions.

"Maybe school's getting to me…" she muttered before stepping in the house.

Perhaps it had just been stress from school, and her mother, that was causing Emily to see weird things.

The next few days passed by with not a single snowfall and no odd experiences for Emily. She was highly relieved and yet, for some reason, disappointed by the lack of unusualness. However, the weird snow incidents left her mind as the days passed. She got to pair up with Katie Abernathy for an English project, much to her happiness. Her mother didn't mention Ryan and Jake's wedding at all and her father had brought back an adorable stuffed moose to add to her humble collection of stuffed animals.

Things were definitely looking up…That is, until exactly one week after the blizzard incident.

It was the end of the school day and Emily had been passing by a room used by a club called the Gay-Straight Alliance, GSA for short. Emily always felt uneasy passing by said room, partly out of a desire to join to feel accepted and out of fear of being ridiculed by others if she joined.

Emily noticed the school principal, along with other school officials, talking in hushed tones with the teacher in charge of the club. They all had dark looks on their faces. There was a crowd of students ogling the inside of the room. Curious, Emily pushed through the crowd to see what was going on.

The inside of the GSA clubroom was a mess. Papers were strewn all over the floor, art projects and posters demolished. On one of the windows, written in large black letters, was the word "FAGS".

No one paid much attention as Emily hurriedly escaped from the crowd and out of the building.

Emily quickly made her way down sidewalk after sidewalk, a thoroughly angry expression on her face and her arms crossed in front of her.

It was people like that who made the world so difficult! Emily couldn't help but be furious. But, then again, she wondered what right she had to be so angry. She was living in fear of being outed as a lesbian, so what right did she have to feel angry when she couldn't even admit her own sexuality?

"Damn…" she growled.

At that moment, thick clouds rolled over Burgess with astonishing speed and a light snow began to fall, not that Emily really noticed. As if aware of Emily's lack of attention, the snow fell harder. But Emily was still not looking.

Then, a burst of wind blew a bunch of snow smack into Emily's face. Emily sputtered as she wiped the cold flakes off of her, finally becoming aware of the snowfall.

"No way!" she exclaimed disbelievingly, staring at the skies with wide blue eyes, "It was sunny just a few minutes ago!"

It was happening…The odd snow events were happening yet again…Emily was about to run for home, when she noticed the snow moving in an odd manner. It was swirling and twirling before her eyes. Emily followed the snow as it led her gaze towards a bunch of trees, part of the large forest of Burgess.

Emily gasped and took a step backwards when she saw frost forming on one of the trees, turning into what was unmistakably an arrow, pointing into the forest.

Somewhat frightened, Emily turned and tried to get away, but apparently nature was having none of that. A strong gust of wind forced Emily towards the trees.

"Oh great," Emily groaned as she stared at the frost arrow, "I'm going to be killed by a snow wizard."

Against all better judgment, and her will, Emily went into the forest, following the frost arrow. As she found herself wandering deeper and deeper into the forest, more frost arrows formed on trees to show her which way to go.

After several minutes, Emily found herself in a clearing. Before her was a lake, frozen over with a thick layer of ice. Emily glanced around nervously, dropping her backpack on top of a small boulder.

Slowly and steadily, Emily stepped onto the ice. She took a couple steps at a time, pausing whenever she felt like she was about to slip. Soon, she made her way to the center of the frozen lake and stood still, her breath coming out slowly as she peered around.

"Hello?" she called out, her voice echoing in the quietness, "Someone there?"

There was silence.

"Look, whoever you are, if you don't-Hey!"

Emily let out a yell as a snowball hit her back. She spun around, nearly slipping in the process, but saw no one there.

"It's you…" she whispered, adding more loudly, "Hey! Whatever you are! What do you want from me?"

Emily's mouth fell open when a frost pattern formed on the frozen lake, near her feet. She clapped her hands over mouth, stumbling backwards, when some invisible figure started drawing on the frost. The drawing was of a flower.

"Whoa," Emily said in awe as the frost flower suddenly lifted up into the air, stopping right before her eyes.

Emily cautiously reached out a hand to touch the flower, only for it to dissolve into sparkling particles of ice. Instead of feeling disappointed at not getting the flower, Emily felt the corners of her lips tugging upwards

"Cool," she giggled.

A bunch of snowflakes started twirling and spinning around Emily, causing her to laugh louder. The snowflakes shot forward, towards the trees.

"Okay, so you don't seem to be a bad guy," Emily stated, "I'm Emily Rhodes. Um, so who are you?"

There was silence at that. Emily pondered what to do next. It seemed as though this mysterious snow person couldn't talk to her, for some reason.

"Okay, how about I ask some yes or no questions," she suggested, "One snowball for yes, two for no…Were you the one who stopped the snowstorm when I asked?"

Emily shrieked as a snowball came flying towards her from somewhere in the trees, thankfully landing by her feet instead of her face.

"And the snowball thrower from the next day and the frost on the window at school," Emily continued, "That was you?"

Another single snowball landed by her feet. Emily felt excitement building up within her at the revelations.

"So, what's your name?" she asked, only to be met with nothing, "Oh, right, not a yes or no question…Well, do you have a name?"

A snowball came towards her.

"Will you tell me?"

Emily shouted when two snowballs hit her in the back.

"Smartass," she muttered, though a smirk was still on her face, "Alright, if you won't tell me your name, I'll just have to name you myself."

Emily thought for all of five seconds before blurting out.

"Alright, you're Mr. Snowman."

Though it was as quiet as a graveyard, Emily could practically feel Mr. Snowman moaning and groaning over the silly name.

"Touch luck, mister! That's what you get for being secretive!" Emily laughed, adding, "You are a guy, right?"

A snowball to the face answered that question.

"Why you little…" Emily started, ready to pay back Mr. Snowman for the attack, when her eyes widened, "Oh, wait, I can't stay here! My mom'll be home by now. She'll throw a fit if I'm late for no reason."

Emily made her way back to her backpack, occasionally slipping and sliding around on the ice. As she rushed to put the backpack on, Emily turned back to the lake.

"Hey, Mr. Snowman…" she began, "Will you be here tomorrow?"

A snowball hit Emily square in the middle of her chest. She shook her head, a smile planted on her face.

"Well…I guess I'll see you then!"

Emily could hardly wait for school to be over the next day. Susan and Justin had noticed Emily's mood and asked her about it. While putting together the final parts of their English project, Katie also asked Emily about how giddy she was. All Emily could say in response was that she had made an interesting new friend and was going to visit him after school.

That was also the same excuse Emily had given her parents so that she could spend more time playing with Mr. Snowman. They were surprised, since Emily wasn't the most social person in the world, but very willing for her to make more friends. When the final bell rang, Emily couldn't rush out of school fast enough. She ran over to the tree line where she had seen that frost arrow the day before. She looked around to see if anyone was watching before walking over to the trees.

"Mr. Snowman, are you there?" Emily asked, knowing she wouldn't be able to find her way to the lake on her own, "Mr. Snowman?"

It was quiet, not a single response. Emily frowned a bit and once again called for her new friend, but didn't receive any reply. Her shoulders drooped and she furrowed her brow. Had Mr. Snowman decided not to come again?

"Whoa!" Emily shouted when a strong gust of air gave her a push into the forest.

Emily looked around and saw the frost arrows forming on the trees. She smiled broadly and let out a laugh as she followed the arrows to the frozen lake.

"You had me going for a second!" she exclaimed, "I though you wouldn't show up."

A snowball hit her on the arm, a response from Mr. Snowman telling her to have more faith in him.

"Hey, don't think you can push me around like that!" she yelled, packing some snow into a ball, "Show yourself so I can get you!"

Mr. Snowman chose that moment to throw a snowball at Emily's back. Emily turned in the direction that the snowball had come from and threw her own. As she bent down to make another, a snowball hit her arm.

"No fair!" she shouted as she tossed another snowball, "How am I supposed to hit you?"

Emily and Mr. Snowman fought long and hard for several minutes, Emily's laughs bouncing off the trees. By the time Emily collapsed onto a nearby boulder, utterly exhausted, she had been nailed dozens of times by snowballs. As for how many times she had hit Mr. Snowman, well, not like she could see him. And he wasn't going to admit that she had hit him at all.

"I've never had a snowball fight with an invisible person before," Emily panted, "Can't you show yourself, Mr. Snowman?"

Two snowballs landed by Emily's feet, the sign for no.

"I should get going," Emily said after a moment, "I'll come again, alright?"

"So, you look like you enjoyed your visit to your new friend's house."

"I did," Emily answered her mom, "We had a snowball fight…He won, that cheater."

"Wait, it's a guy?" Mr. Rhodes questioned, "I don't know how I feel about that…"

"C'mon, Dad, Mr. Snowman's a nice guy," Emily told him with a roll of her eyes.

"'Mr. Snowman'?" he repeated.

Emily mentally scolded herself for the slip up before scrambling to come up with a lie.

"He really likes snow, so that's the nickname I gave him," she explained.

"Maybe you should invite this boy over, Em," Mrs. Rhodes proposed, "We can meet him properly."

"Um, he's kinda nervous around strangers," Emily said, "It takes a while for him to get used to others."

Emily saw that her mother was about to respond, when the phone interrupted them. Mrs. Rhodes answered the call with a smile, which quickly vanished.

"Jessica!" Mrs. Rhodes exclaimed in a false cheery voice, "Great to hear from you!"

Emily shook her head as she listened to her mother artfully lie her way out of attending the wedding, yet again.

"Why don't you just tell her the truth?" Emily asked once Mrs. Rhodes hung up the phone, "Tell her you're not coming because you think Ryan's a freak."

"Emily, watch you tone!" Mrs. Rhodes scolded, "Jessica is still a friend, so I can't tell her things like that."

"She probably already knows, from how hard you've been trying to avoid her these past few months," Emily replied coolly.

"Emily, that's enough," Mrs. Rhodes said sternly, "Go upstairs and don't come down until you've finished your homework."

Emily glanced over at her father, who was giving her a look that said not to argue, before she marched upstairs.

"She's hurting Mrs. Carson by thinking up all of those stupid lies."

Emily was back in the forest, currently building a large snowman with Mr. Snowman. The snowman was as tall as three of Emily. She handled the bottom half while Mr. Snowman took care of the top.

As they worked, Emily found herself telling Mr. Snowman about Ryan and Jake's wedding and her mother's lies to Mrs. Carson. She didn't know why she was getting so chatty with Mr. Snowman, who she had only known for three days. Susan and Justin, whom she had known for two years, didn't even know about the Carson family. And how did Emily know that Mr. Snowman was not shaking his head in disgust over the idea of two men getting married?

She didn't…But perhaps that was why. Since she couldn't see his face, Emily found that it was easier to tell him things. Not her own secret, of course not! But telling him about the Carsons felt okay. Mr. Snowman didn't seem to mind when Emily wanted to say something.

"I mean, if this is how she's going to treat Mrs. Carson over Ryan's wedding, then maybe Mom shouldn't be continuing her friendship," Emily went on. She observed the snowman, "Alright, all that's left is the arms and face!"

Emily laughed and clapped her hands as Mr. Snowman, grabbed a couple long sticks and jabbed them on either side of the snowman. Emily collected a bunch of large rocks for the face.

"I wanna do the face!" she exclaimed, before looking up, "But how do I get up there?"

In answer to that, Emily watched as Mr. Snowman, with remarkable speed, created a staircase of snow. She then saw a thick layer of frost form over the staircase, probably to give it more support.

"If I fall and die, I'll haunt you forever," Emily warned halfheartedly as she carefully climbed the staircase to complete their masterpiece, grinning at the feel of the wind against her back.

It seemed that Mr. Snowman wasn't up for her haunting him anytime soon.

And so, it continued for days and days, weeks and weeks.

Emily couldn't play with Mr. Snowman every day. Her folks would have been suspicious if she went to visit her mysterious new friend after school so much. Also, Emily learned from Mr. Snowman, through their patented snowball communication method, that he wouldn't be in town every day. There would be times where he'd go away for a couple days, but he always came back soon.

Mr. Snowman was like a godsend for Emily. Whenever something at school or home bothered her, he would brighten her day with a bit of snow, a snowball fight, or some frosty arts and crafts. One day, when she brought an old sled of hers at his request, he took her on a joyride through the forest. Another day, when she brought ice skates she borrowed from her mother, Mr. Snowman taught her how to skate on the lake. It took a few days for her to become decent and she couldn't help but feel like he was acting a bit overprotective on those days, making the ice on the lake as thick as possible and making sure the wind caught her when she fell, as though he was scared she'd fall through the ice…She didn't need his arrows to show her the way anymore; she could locate the frozen lake in a snap.

Emily was able to tell Mr. Snowman almost everything. She told him about how she missed her father when he went away, how her grandmother had meant so much to her, how she loved her mother but her prejudices made her feel terrible, and how the wedding was going.

Part of Emily wanted her to come out to Mr. Snowman. Though whenever this feeling popped up, Emily ruthlessly squashed it, like a bug. Despite Mr. Snowman showing no bad feelings towards Ryan and Jake, she wasn't going to risk it by revealing her own orientation.

She cared too much about her snowy friend to lose him.

All Emily ever did say was that she had a crush on someone who she had no chance with, someone named K, and that the crush was not like usual crushes. Mr. Snowman was an excellent listener and seemed to love tossing snowballs at her when she felt low about K.

Before Emily even realized it, it was February.

"You have to leave again?"

Emily's shoulders dropped when she got the news from Mr. Snowman. He said that he had to go somewhere else, and he wasn't sure how long he'd take. Emily had noticed that Mr. Snowman's disappearances were getting more frequent as temperatures ever so slowly rose around Burgess.

"I hope you come back soon," Emily mumbled as she sat on the boulder.

Emily saw frost form on the boulder. Mr. Snowman drew a question mark on the frost, probably having noticed that Emily was feeling nervous.

"Valentine's Day is the day after tomorrow," Emily confessed, "I made a card for my crush. Actually I made several with my name in it, but my final copy is anonymous…I've been trying to decide if I should put it in K's locker or not."

Mr. Snowman created a few snowflakes, which blew into her face, an attempt and giving her a confidence boost.

"I seriously don't have a chance with K, Mr. Snowman," Emily insisted, "You have no idea how bad my chances are…But…A secret card can't hurt, right?"

Mr. Snowman created more frost and drew a smiley face in it. Emily chuckled at that before she got ready to leave.

"Come back soon, Mr. Snowman."

The final bell rang on the afternoon of February 13th.

Emily waited until the hallways were as empty as possible before sneaking up to Katie's locker and trying to fit the Valentine's Day card through the slits. Part of the card stuck out, no matter what Emily did, so she left the card as is before heading out.

Emily came home to an empty house. Her mother had to stay late at the office and her father's flight wouldn't come in for another hour. The phone started to ring, displaying a familiar name on the caller ID.

"Hi, Mrs. Carson," Emily greeted.

"Emily, how are you?" Mrs. Carson asked.

After exchanging pleasantries, with Emily asking excitedly about how the wedding preparations were going, Mrs. Carson asked what Emily had been expecting.

"There's still room for last minute guests. Are you sure you and your parents can't come?"

Emily bit her lip at the question, feeling bad over the hopefulness in Mrs. Carson's voice. She and Mrs. Rhodes had been friends for many years, so Emily knew that her mother's sudden attitude shift towards Mrs. Carson was hurting her.

Mrs. Carson was a nice woman…And Ryan and Jake were good people as well…Emily knew they shouldn't waste time worrying over a poor friend like her mother.

"Mrs. Carson," Emily began slowly, "You should know-"

"I already know what you're going to say," Mrs. Carson interrupted. Emily heard the older woman sniffle a bit before continuing, "I noticed a change in Liz after I first told her Ryan was gay. I thought I was imagining things…Then, I thought she would change her mind. We've been friends for so long, so I had hoped that meant something to her."

"I'm so sorry," Emily whispered.

"You're a good child, Emily. And that father of yours is a good man, even though he seems to be spineless in terms of Liz's beliefs. Tell your mother that I won't bother her anymore, alright?"

And Emily did tell her mother that as she joined her parents for dinner that night. She, unexpectedly, found herself in the middle of a huge argument with her mother, who believed that Emily had somehow squealed to Mrs. Carson. Emily had shot back coldly that it was blatantly obvious how prejudiced Mrs. Rhodes was and that Mrs. Carson was better off without a friend like her. Mrs. Rhodes had said that she didn't need "queers" in her life anyway.

After the argument came to an end, with no real help from Mr. Rhodes, Emily locked herself in her room, her body shaking from anger and a strong desire to cry.

Emily left for school early on Valentine's Day, barely saying two words to her mother. When Emily entered the school, it was mostly empty, save for some teachers, custodians, and other early bird students. As Emily emptied out her backpack into her locker, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

She nearly dropped all the books she held when she saw Katie Abernathy standing there.

"Hi, Katie!" Emily said, her voice sounding a bit higher from the surprise.

"Hey, Emily," Katie greeted.

Emily couldn't help but feel a certain awkwardness between the two of them. Before Emily could say anything else, she felt her heart dive-bomb down into her stomach when Katie held something up in her hand.

…The Valentine's Day card…

"So, I found this in my locker," Katie explained.

"It's pretty," Emily answered, trying to sound casual, "Any ideas who's it from?"

Katie simply opened the card and pointed. Emily felt like slamming her head into a brick wall a few times.

There, in her handwriting, was her name…Emily had mistakenly grabbed one of the old copies of the Valentine's Day card instead of the anonymous one…

"So, Emily…" Katie continued as Emily felt her face growing warmer by the second, "You're gay?"

Here it was, the moment of truth…

Yeah…Yeah, I am. I'm sorry, that was supposed to be an anonymous card. I know you don't feel the same but I wanted to show you how much I admire you.

"…No…"

Coward.

"No, I'm not," Emily lied softly, not meeting Katie's gaze, "Sorry, my friends and I were making joke Valentine's Day cards. We were supposed to throw them all out though…One of them must've put it in your locker as a prank."

"Oh!" Emily couldn't help but flinch at how relieved Katie was at the lie, "Well, that's a relief!"

"'A relief'?" Emily repeated, finally looking up at Katie.

"Yeah," Katie went on, oblivious to how hurt Emily had sounded, "I mean, well, being gay's alright, I guess, but…they're kind of weird. It'd be depressing if we couldn't be friends anymore because you were gay."

Emily was speechless, her mouth open as she stared at Katie. One of Katie's friends called her, so she left with a wave, tossing the card in a nearby trash can. Emily stared after Katie, her breaths coming out as shudders. Emily slowly turned back to her locker, putting the remaining books inside as her lower lip quivered and her vision became a bit blurry.

They're kind of weird.

It's not natural.

Abnormality…

I don't need queers in my life!

Emily slammed the locker shut before rushing out the front door.

A cold wind blew as Emily made her way down street after street, rubbing her arms since her coat wasn't keeping her warm enough. She nearly slipped a couple times on slush and ice and some passersby would stare at her as she went by, but she didn't care. She was biting her lip and looking up, holding back the tears that threatened to fall.

Without being aware, Emily's feet led her through the forest, deeper and deeper, until she reached th frozen lake.

Emily looked around. It was quiet and colorless.

…Lonely…

With a gasp, the tears finely spilled from her eyes. Emily went to the middle of the lake, having better balance on the ice since her skating lesson. She looked around as she cried, trying to keep herself from breaking down but desperately searching.

"Mr. Snowman…" she cried, her voice quaking, "Please come out."

Wind whistling through the trees was all she got in return.

"Come out!" Emily yelled louder, "You always showed up when I needed you before! Mr. Snowman!"

As Emily rubbed her eyes, trying to wiping away the tears as they fell, she heard a familiar noise. She snapped her head towards the trees and saw a layer of frost quickly growing over them.

"Are you here?" she asked, her voice shaking as the tears paused for a moment.

A snowball, instead of being tossed, rolled over to her feet. It was smaller than the ones normally used but it meant the same thing.

Yes…

Emily smiled as she looked around. A small snowflake floated before her eyes. She lifted a hand and touched it with her finger, watching it dissolve into the tiniest of crystals. The wind forced her to look towards the ground, where a question mark was written in the frost on the lake.

Emily's hands went through her hair numerous times, the tears starting to fall down her cheeks once more as she sniffed. Why had she come here? What purpose did she have? What did she expect to happen?

She wasn't sure…But she knew she needed his answer more than anything.

"I need to ask you something," she said in a small voice, "Please listen and please answer me…"

The wind had died down a bit, a sign that Mr. Snowman was indeed listening. Emily sniffed and quickly wiped away a few tears as she tried to figure out how to say what she wanted.

…The only way was to be blunt about, wasn't it?

"Mr. Snowman, I…" Emily began, her voice occasionally cracking, much to her annoyance, "I…Mr. Snowman, I like girls…Like how boys like girls…"

"I always knew something was different," Emily continued, pacing around a bit, "I always dreamed of being a princess' knight in shining armor. I accidentally kissed a girl and I wished I could have done it again. I haven't told anyone because I'm scared. You're the first one I've ever told. My mom's been going on about how she feels about homosexuals. The K I told you about is a girl named Katie, and she doesn't seem to like them much either."

Emily came to a stop and looked towards the trees, finally asking what she wanted to know most.

"…Will you still play with me…?"

Silence.

"Mr. Snowman?"

No one snowball for yes or two for no. No frost drawings or wind…Nothing…

Emily felt like lying down and sobbing. But she wasn't going to do so in front of him. She turned and began to march away…only to be stopped by a layer of frost forming on the ground before her.

"Wha-?" was all Emily could say as she watched Mr. Snowman draw a cat on the frost.

After a moment, the cat drawing came to life, jumping through the air and around Emily. She turned back to the frost and saw that Mr. Snowman wasn't done yet. A couple of birds soon accompanied the cat, then a puppy, then a few rabbits, then some fish. Emily gazed about in awe as these beautiful frost animals danced around her. She gasped when a shower of frost flowers fell over her.

A laugh…A small laugh that grew and grew and grew.

Emily laughed with a happiness that knew no bounds as the wind twirled a bunch of snowflakes around her…He liked her…Mr. Snowman still liked her!

"Mr. Snowman…" she breathed, "Thank you…"

Suddenly, a burst of wind threw a few snowflakes at Emily's nose. She gasped and giggled as she rubbed her nose, which had been nipped by the cold air.

…Emily's hand fell and her mouth opened just a bit…Her nose was nipped by the air…A Christmas carol sounded through her head.

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire," she sung, her voice barely audible, even in the silence, "…Jack Frost…nipping at your nose…"

A thump came from behind her. Emily let out a short breath before she turned ever so slowly to confront the one who had made the noise.

…A boy…A boy who looked just a few years older than her. Messy hair as white as snow, eyes that were a brilliant shade of blue, such pale skin. He was barefoot and wore trousers from an older time but a modern day dark blue hoodie with frost patterns on it. In his hands was an oddly shaped staff.

Everything about him said cold but the light in his eyes and his smile was making Emily feel as though she had just downed a pint of hot chocolate.

"Mr. Snowman…Jack Frost," she gasped, staring at the boy.

"The one and only," Jack Frost replied, his voice deeper than Emily had expected.

"Jack Frost…"

"Yup!" he grinned.

"Jack Frost…"

"Uh huh…"

"Jack Frost…"

"Do I need to throw a snowball at you?" Jack asked.

Emily blinked and shook her head, getting out of her trance. She slapped her cheeks a couple times, just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. But no, she wasn't.

Her beloved Mr. Snowman had been Jack Frost the whole time…

"Holy crap," she muttered, her knees shaking from shock.

"C'mon, Emily," Jack said as he took her arm and led her to the boulder, making her sit, "Can't have you fainting on me."

Emily stared as Jack hopped up onto the boulder, as though he were light as a feather, and sat beside her.

"…Why are you here?" she asked, mentally slapping herself for the utterly stupid question.

"This is my home," Jack explained, gesturing at the lake, "Jack Frost was born here. But I was originally born in the town a couple centuries back."

"The town?"

"Yeah, back when I was human," Jack told her, "Back when I was the town trickster named Jackson Overland. But that's a long story."

"I've been hanging out with the Jack Frost all this time," Emily was in absolute awe at the reveal, "I made friends with a legend!"

"Well, I don't know about legend," Jack said, though Emily noticed he was looking a little smug at that.

Emily slid herself off the boulder and stared up at Jack, who was regarding her with an amused and surprisingly happy expression.

"Why didn't you show yourself before?" Emily asked.

"Because you didn't believe in me," Jack answered as he too got off the boulder, "Mr. Snowman, yeah, but not me. By the way, not very creative on nicknames, are you?"

"You could've written your name in the frost."

"That's not how belief works," Jack said, ruffling Emily's hair playfully, "You shouldn't need proof to believe in something. At least, that's what North told me once."

"North?"

"Santa."

"Santa's real too?" Emily squeaked.

"The Sandman, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny…There're a lot of us," Jack smirked, "They're as real as I am. And I'm only as real as you believe I am."

Emily knew she looked silly with her mouth hanging open and her wide eyes, but she was in awe over the existence of so many so-called "mythical beings".

"So," she started when she got a hold of herself, "How come Jack Frost wanted to hang out with Emily Rhodes?"

"I came back to this town after visiting my friend, Jamie, over at his college," Jack explained, twirling around his staff as he did so, "He had looked kind of bored, so we started a snowball fight. Kid's gotten good over the years; nailed me five times…Way better than you."

Emily scoffed at that. She was certain she must've hit him a bunch of times during their numerous snowball fights.

"Anyways, I happened to see you looking out the window so happily when I brought the snow, but you seemed tense when you left the house. I thought a snow day was what you needed…Though, I guess I overdid it, huh?"

Emily nodded slowly, a small grin on her face as she remembered that day.

"When you left the house the next day, you seemed stressed again," Jack went on, drawing a frost dog and letting it play around Emily, who giggled, "I thought a snowball fight would get you happy again."

"Freaked me out, actually," Emily chirped.

"I did the frost on the window as an apology."

"And got me in trouble with the teacher."

"There's just no pleasing you, is there?" Jack asked with mock frustration, the frost dog dissolving and showering Emily with ice particles.

"And then you disappeared for a week," Emily grumbled.

"Well, other places need some snow too, so I have to leave now and then," Jack said, sending a look up at the sky, "Though this global warming stuff is messing with me…Bunny's been saying I'm off my game. By the time I came back, you looked angry…Then, I knew I would have to handle you one-on-one. I wasn't gonna let you be so mopy all the time. Fun is what I do best, after all."

"Well, you really did made things fun, Mr. Snowman," Emily chuckled.

"It's Jack now, got it?" Jack made clear, "'Mr. Snowman' makes me sound like an old guy."

Emily nodded with mock solemnity, glad to finally, truly, meet Mr. Snowman…The warm smile on her face slowly faded when she thought about what she had asked him minutes earlier.

"So, you really don't care that I'm…a lesbian?" she asked, wanting to actually hear his answer.

Jack shook his head, as though he couldn't believe that she was still talking about that.

"What, are you going to go on a rampage in the town?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"Does liking girls suddenly mean you'll push little kids and kick puppies and all that evil stuff?" he continued, leaning on his staff.

"N-no, of course not," Emily stammered.

"So why are you acting like you've become a villain since you prefer girls?"

Emily was rendered speechless for a minute. She looked down, a little bothered, while a serious expression came across Jack's face.

"From what you've said, your mom's been no help," Jack began to walk around the lake, looking at the forest, "I've been around for a long time, so I've seen a lot of lovers come here for a private moment. Most couples were a man and woman, but there was the occasional pair of boys or girls."

Jack walked up to Emily, who looked up at him curiously.

"I've never got the importance people place on gender in relationships, romance or otherwise," he said softly, "I mean, so long as you're not lonely anymore, gender shouldn't matter, right?"

Emily blinked in surprise at that before that smile of hers came back with a vengeance. To Jack's surprise, Emily wrapped her arms tightly around his body. After a second, Jack returned the embrace. Emily never knew a hug could be so warm and so chilling at the same time.

"To think you're the same guy who's been throwing snowballs at me for over a month," she murmured when the two broke apart.

Jack winked at her as a breeze picked.

"Listen, Emily," he started gently, "I have to go again."

"Huh?"

"I've got other places to visit," Jack said as he took a couple steps back, "And the temperature is rising around here, so I can't keep the snow around forever. Bunny would never forgive if I did a repeat of '68."

"B-but," Emily stuttered, "But what if I need to talk to someone? …I like talking to you…"

Jack smiled understandingly at that, as though he could empathize with her loneliness, which Emily believed that, just perhaps, he did.

"Well, there's always him."

Emily followed the point of his finger. There, up in the sky, having forgotten to disappear with the start of the new day, was the moon. Emily looked at Jack with a raised eyebrow.

"The Man in the Moon made me who I am," he told her, gazing up at the moon reverently, "He told me my name, and I've talked to him a bunch over the years."

"…You want me…to talk to the moon?" Emily questioned slowly, looking back and forth between Jack and the moon.

"He doesn't talk much," Jack continued, standing beside Emily as they looked up, "But he's always there when you need him. I've complained to him a lot over the centuries and I've asked him a lot too. He's a great listener."

Jack looked down at Emily with a smile.

"Sometimes, all you need is someone to listen, huh?"

Emily returned Jack's gaze and grinned a little…

Jack took a couple steps back as the wind started to pick up. Emily knew that meant that he was about to leave her again. She tried to look happy for him, but she could see that he noticed how anxious she looked.

"Don't worry, Emily," he reassured her, "Like I said, this is my home. I go away sometimes, but I always come back."

"Let's play again soon, Jack."

Jack nodded, the wind really starting to blow now. Just as Jack was about to take off, Emily stopped him.

"Wait, Jack! Can you do me a favor?"

Jack looked at her curiously.

"I'm listening…"

Emily Rhodes stayed in that clearing for several minutes after Jack Frost left, but she eventually made her way back to school, not bothered in the slightest as the teacher scolded her for being late.

Did Emily go back to Katie Abernathy and tell her the truth? No.

Did she join the GSA as she wanted? No.

Did she come out to any of her friends? Nope.

How about her family? Not at all…It stayed awkward between her and her parents, especially her mother, for several days after that Valentine's Day.

However, something did change. Emily found a new level of self-worth, all from Jack's acceptance of her. She was still nervous about how others would take her orientation, so she didn't tell others. But she gained some courage so that, one day, hopefully soon, she would be able to come out to the others.

The Man in the Moon truly was a good listener. After her parents went to sleep, Emily would sit by her bedroom window and talk to him about her worries and troubles, her hopes, dreams, and many other wonderful things too…The guy never did tell her anything, but he always listened to what she had to say. And, for Emily, that was enough.

And Jack Frost kept his vow too. Sure, he had to leave a lot, especially when spring really kicked in and summer proved to be unbearable.

But Mr. Snowman always came back to Burgess to spend time with Emily…

…Oh, and by the way, to the bafflement of the forecasters who had predicted clear skies for the entire week, Ryan Carson got the snowy wedding he dreamed of after all.

Done! This is, without a doubt, the longest single chapter I have ever written. But I'm okay with that. This was never meant to be a multiple chapter story, no matter how long it got. It absolutely had to be a one-shot. And yes, as Jack reveals, this story takes place several years after the events of Rise of the Guardians, considering that Jamie is in college. And yeah, I believe Jamie would still believe in Jack and the other Guardians, even as an adult. I mean, c'mon, after all the cool stuff he experienced, he's going to forget them? Unless all adults automatically forget once they hit adulthood…That's sad…

So, like I said before, Emily is gay but that honestly wasn't the point of this story. The point of this story was to show a lonely and nervous kid who needed someone who she could confide in, without fear of being judged. And yes, there are people in the world who have friends but still feel lonely. There are those who are highly concerned with what those friends, and other loved ones, think of them, and so they hide so much about them…I'm one of those people. And, odds are, a good number of you guys are too.

We all have that someone or something who we've told everything to. Chances are, the one who knows everything about you is an inanimate object, or even an imaginary friend. Basically, someone who others can't have a conversation with like you can. They may not respond to what you say, but they listen to you without judging, without making you feel like you're wrong or odd. For me, my stuffed animals and little action figures were, and still are, my Mr. Snowman…They know me way more accurately than my family or friends do. Because I trust them and they made me feel like I could tell them anything.

It's the same with Emily and Jack. Even though Emily couldn't see Jack for most of the story and hadn't even known him for that long, she still told him more than she told anyone else. And, in the end, he was the first person she came out to. Simply because of that trust his presence gave her, that feeling that he would still be her friend. And, when she needed him the most at the end, he showed that he truly would stay with her.

Now, let me bring up a couple other things. I could've easily written this story without Emily being gay. Plus, I've never written a gay character before, so it was a challenge for me (hopefully I did it well enough). So, why did I make Emily gay? Like I said before, my brain wouldn't leave me be. No matter what I did, my writer voice kept telling me, "Don't be such a sissy! Make her a gay character, you know it'll work better that way!" And I truly believe Emily being gay added something to the story that a straight Emily wouldn't have.

In my personal opinion, belief doesn't require proof, that's why Jack never wrote his name to tell Emily who he was. There are many beliefs in the world, both good and bad. But truly believing in something should be when one considers an idea to be the truth, regardless of whether or not there is irrefutable evidence backing up that claim.

Man, this story has very long beginning and ending notes, doesn't it? Sorry about that, but I had a lot to say!

Alright, so I hope you enjoyed this VERY long one-shot. Please leave me a review! Thank you very much!